MINUTES OF TRAINING SESSION AT THE ONE MONTH CERTIFICATE COURSE IN PAIN AND PALLIATIVE CARE
Topic: Dementia- An Overview
Facilitator: Amulya Rajan, Psychologist, ARDSI, Hyderabad Deccan
Date: 18th March, 2015
Place: MNJ Cancer Hospital, Hyderabad
Time: 11am-12 noon
- As part of the 'One month certificate course in pain and palliative care', a session on dementia was conducted by the ARDSI psychologist at the MNJ Cancer Hospital.
- The session commenced with an introduction to dementia with an interactive session with the trainees about memory and forgetting.
- A description of the general symptoms of dementia leading on to the different kinds of dementia and how they vary from each other followed.
- Further the trainees were explained the stages of advancement in dementia and the symptoms that accompany each stage. This information was supplemented by two videos on dementia which helped the trainees understand the concepts better.
- Then the trainees were told about the major effects of dementia on the life of the patient as well as the caregiver. She spoke about the progression of the disease from the early to the advanced stages with accompanying changes in the individual in each.
- The facilitator then went on to explain about the clinical evaluation of dementia from the time the patient or caregiver approaches the medical professional to the time of the final diagnosis. She then went on to explain the different components of dementia care constituting medical and psychological support for the patient and family. She stressed on the need for continued support services for dementia through the various stages, and the scarcity of these services in the city.
- To conclude the facilitator touched upon healthy ageing and the components of healthy ageing, and the importance of delaying the onset of dementia.
